Chapter X: Front Matter (10)

Notwithstanding their composite origin, their wide geographical distribution and their cosmopolitan instincts, the modern Greeks are a remarkably homogeneous people, differing markedly in character from neighbouring races, united by a common enthusiasm in the pursuit of their national aims, and profoundly convinced of their superiority to other nations. Their distinctive character, combined with their traditional tendency to regard non-Hellenic peoples as barbarous, has, indeed, to some extent counteracted the results of their great energy and zeal in the assimilation of other races; the advantageous position which they attained at an early period under Turkish rule owing to their superior civilization, their versatility, their wealth, and their monopoly of the ecclesiastical power would probably have enabled them to Hellenize permanently the greater part of the Balkan peninsula had their attitude towards other Christian races been more sympathetic. Always the most civilized race in the East, they have successively influenced their Macedonian, Roman and Turkish conquerors, and their remarkable intellectual endowments bid fair to secure them a brilliant position in the future. The intense patriotic zeal of the Greeks may be compared with that of the Hungarians; it is liable to degenerate into arrogance and intolerance; it sometimes blinds their judgment and involves them in ill-considered enterprises, but it nevertheless offers the best guarantee for the ultimate attainment of their national aims. All Greeks, in whatever country they may reside, work together for the realization of the Great Idea ([Greek: he Megale Idea])--the supremacy of Hellenism in the East--and to this object they freely devote their time, their wealth and their talents; the large fortunes which they amass abroad are often bequeathed for the foundation of various institutions in Greece or Turkey, for the increase of the national fleet and army, or for the spread of Hellenic influence in the Levant. This patriotic sentiment is unfortunately much exploited by self-seeking demagogues and publicists, who rival each other in exaggerating the national pretensions and in pandering to the national vanity. In no other country is the passion for politics so intense; "keen political discussions are constantly going on at the cafes; the newspapers, which are extraordinarily numerous and generally of little value, are literally devoured, and every measure of the government is violently criticized and ascribed to interested motives." The influence of the journals is enormous; even the waiters in the cafes and domestic servants have their favourite newspaper, and discourse fluently on the political problems of the day. Much of the national energy is wasted by this continued political fever; it is diverted from practical aims, and may be said to evaporate in words. The practice of independent criticism tends to indiscipline in the organized public services; it has been remarked that every Greek soldier is a general and every sailor an admiral. During the war of 1897 a young naval lieutenant telegraphed to the minister of war condemning the measures taken by his admiral, and his action was applauded by several journals. There is also little discipline in the ranks of political parties, which are held together, not by any definite principle, but by the personal influence of the leaders; defections are frequent, and as a rule each deputy in the Chamber makes his terms with his chief. On the other hand, the independent character of the Greeks is favourably illustrated by the circumstance that Greece is the only country in the Balkan peninsula in which the government cannot count on securing a majority by official pressure at the elections. Few scruples are observed in political warfare, but attacks on private life are rare. The love of free discussion is inherent in the strongly-rooted democratic instinct of the Greeks. They are in spirit the most democratic of European peoples; no trace of Latin feudalism survives, and aristocratic pretensions are ridiculed. In social life there is no artificial distinction of classes; all titles of nobility are forbidden; a few families descended from the chiefs in the War of Independence enjoy a certain pre-eminence, but wealth and, still more, political or literary notoriety constitute the principal claim to social consideration. The Greeks display great intellectual vivacity; they are clever, inquisitive, quick-witted and ingenious, but not profound; sustained mental industry and careful accuracy are distasteful to them, and their aversion to manual labour is still more marked. Even the agricultural class is but moderately industrious; abundant opportunities for relaxation are provided by the numerous church festivals. The desire for instruction is intense even in the lowest ranks of the community; rhetorical and literary accomplishments possess a greater attraction for the majority than the fields of modern science. The number of persons who seek to qualify for the learned professions is excessive; they form a superfluous element in the community, an educated proletariat, attaching themselves to the various political parties in the hope of obtaining state employment and spending an idle existence in the cafes and the streets when their party is out of power. In disposition the Greeks are lively, cheerful, plausible, tactful, sympathetic; very affable with strangers, hospitable, kind to their servants and dependants, remarkably temperate and frugal in their habits, amiable and united in family life. Drunkenness is almost unknown, thrift is universally practised; the standard of sexual morality is high, especially in the rural districts, where illegitimacy is extremely rare. The faults of the Greeks must in a large degree be attributed to their prolonged subjection to alien races; their cleverness often degenerates into cunning, their ready invention into mendacity, their thrift into avarice, their fertility of resource into trickery and fraud. Dishonesty is not a national vice, but many who would scorn to steal will not hesitate to compass illicit gains by duplicity and misrepresentation; deceit, indeed, is often practised gratuitously for the mere intellectual satisfaction which it affords. In the astuteness of their monetary dealings the Greeks proverbially surpass the Jews, but fall short of the Armenians; their remarkable aptitude for business is sometimes marred by a certain short-sightedness which pursues immediate profits at the cost of ulterior advantages. Their vanity and egoism, which are admitted by even the most favourable observers, render them jealous, exacting, and peculiarly susceptible to flattery. In common with other southern European peoples the Greeks are extremely excitable; their passionate disposition is prone to take offence at slight provocation, and trivial quarrels not infrequently result in homicide. They are religious, but by no means fanatical, except in regard to politico-religious questions affecting their national aims. In general the Greeks may be described as a clever, ambitious and versatile people, capable of great effort and sacrifice, but deficient in some of the more solid qualities which make for national greatness.

Customs.

The customs and habits of the Greek peasantry, in which the observances of the classical age may often be traced, together with their legends and traditions, have furnished an interesting subject of investigation to many writers (see _Bibliography_ below). In the towns the more cosmopolitan population has largely adopted the "European" mode of life, and the upper classes show a marked preference for French manners and usages. In both town and country, however, the influence of oriental ideas is still apparent, due in part to the long period of Turkish domination, in part to the contact of the Greeks with Asiatic races at all epochs of their history. In the rural districts, especially, the women lead a somewhat secluded life and occupy a subject position; they wait at table, and only partake of the meal when the men of the family have been served. In most parts of continental Greece the women work in the fields, but in the Aegean Islands and Crete they rarely leave the house. Like the Turks, the Greeks have a great partiality for coffee, which can always be procured even in the remotest hamlets; the Turkish practice of carrying a string of beads or rosary (_comboloio_), which provides an occupation for the hands, is very common. Many of the observances in connexion with births, christenings, weddings and funerals are very interesting and in some cases are evidently derived from remote antiquity. Nuptial ceremonies are elaborate and protracted; in some of the islands of the archipelago they continue for three weeks. In the preliminary negotiations for a marriage the question of the bride's dowry plays a very important part; a girl without a dowry often remains unmarried, notwithstanding the considerable excess of the male over the female population. Immediately after the christening of a female child her parents begin to lay up her portion, and young men often refrain from marrying until their sisters have been settled in life. The dead are carried to the tomb in an open coffin; in the country districts professional mourners are engaged to chant dirges; the body is washed with wine and crowned with a wreath of flowers. A valedictory oration is pronounced at the grave. Many superstitions still prevail among the peasantry; the belief in the vampire and the evil eye is almost universal. At Athens and in the larger towns many handsome dwelling-houses may be seen, but the upper classes have no predilection for rural life, and their country houses are usually mere farmsteads, which they rarely visit. In the more fertile districts two-storeyed houses of the modern type are common, but in the mountainous regions the habitations of the country-folk are extremely primitive; the small stone-built hut, almost destitute of furniture, shelters not only the family but its cattle and domestic animals. In Attica the peasants' houses are usually built of cob. In Maina the villagers live in fortified towers of three or more storeys; the animals occupy the ground floor, the family the topmost storey; the intermediate space serves as a granary or hay-loft. The walls are loop-holed for purposes of defence in view of the traditional vendetta and feuds, which in some instances have been handed down from remote generations and are maintained by occasional sharp-shooting from these primitive fortresses. In general cleanliness and sanitation are much neglected; the traveller in the country districts is doomed to sleepless nights unless he has provided himself with bedding and a hammock. Even Athens, though enriched by many munificent benefactions, is still without a drainage system or an adequate water supply; the sewers of many houses open into the streets, in which rubbish is allowed to accumulate. The effects of insanitary conditions are, however, counteracted in some degree by the excellent climate. The Aegean islanders contrast favourably with the continentals in point of personal cleanliness and the neatness of their dwellings; their houses are generally covered with the flat roof, familiar in Asia, on which the family sleep in summer. The habits and customs of the islanders afford an interesting study. Propitiatory rites are still practised by the mariners and fishermen, and thank-offerings for preservation at sea are hung up in the churches. Among the popular amusements of the Greeks dancing holds a prominent place; the dance is of various kinds; the most usual is the somewhat inanimate round dance ([Greek: syrto] or [Greek: trata]), in which a number of persons, usually of the same sex, take part holding hands; it seems indentical with the Slavonic _kolo_ ("circle"). The more lively Albanian fling is generally danced by three or four persons, one of whom executes a series of leaps and pirouettes. The national music is primitive and monotonous. All classes are passionately addicted to card-playing, which is forbidden by law in places of public resort. The picturesque national costume, which is derived from the Albanian Tosks, has unfortunately been abandoned by the upper classes and the urban population since the abdication of King Otho, who always wore it; it is maintained as the uniform of the _euzones_ (highland regiments). It consists of a red cap with dark blue tassel, a white shirt with wide sleeves, a vest and jacket, sometimes of velvet, handsomely adorned with gold or black braid, a belt in which various weapons are carried, a white kilt or _fustanella_ of many folds, white hose tied with garters, and red leather shoes with pointed ends, from which a tassel depends. Over all is worn the shaggy white _capote_. The islanders wear a dark blue costume with a crimson waistband, loose trousers descending to the knee, stockings and pumps or long boots. The women's costume is very varied; the loose red fez is sometimes worn and a short velvet jacket with rich gold embroidery. The more elderly women are generally attired in black. In the Megara district and elsewhere peasant girls wear on festive occasions a headdress composed of strings of coins which formerly represented the dowry.

Government.

Greece is a constitutional monarchy; hereditary in the male line, or, in case of its extinction, in the female. The sovereign, by decision of the conference of London (August 1863), is styled "king of the Hellenes"; the title "king of Greece" was borne by King Otho. The heir apparent is styled [Greek: ho diadochos], "the successor"; the title "duke of Sparta," which has been accorded to the crown prince, is not generally employed in Greece. The king and the heir apparent must belong to the Orthodox Greek Church; a special exception has been made for King George, who is a Lutheran. The king attains his majority on completing his eighteenth year; before ascending the throne he must take the oath to the constitution in presence of the principal ecclesiastical and lay dignitaries of the kingdom, and must convoke the Chamber within two months after his accession. The civil list amounts to 1,125,000 dr., in addition to which it was provided that King George should receive L4000 annually as a personal allowance from each of the three protecting powers, Great Britain, France and Russia. The heir apparent receives from the state an annuity of 200,000 dr. The king has a palace at Athens and other residences at Corfu, Tatoi (on the slopes of Mt Parnes) and Larissa. The present constitution dates from the 29th of October 1864. The legislative power is shared by the king with a single chamber ([Greek: boule]) elected by manhood suffrage for a period of four years. The election is by ballot; candidates must have completed their thirtieth year and electors their twenty-first. The deputies ([Greek: bouleutai]), according to the constitution, receive only their travelling expenses, but they vote themselves a payment of 1800 dr. each for the session and a further allowance in case of an extraordinary session. The Chamber sits for a term of not less than three or more than six months. No law can be passed except by an absolute majority of the house, and one-half of the members must be present to form a quorum; these arrangements have greatly facilitated the practice of obstruction, and often enable individual deputies to impose terms on the government for their attendance. In 1898 the number of deputies was 234. Some years previously a law diminishing the national representation and enlarging the constituencies was passed by Trikoupis with the object of checking the local influence of electors upon deputies, but the measure was subsequently repealed. The number of deputies, however, who had hitherto been elected in the proportion of one to twelve thousand of the population, was reduced in 1905, when the proportion of one to sixteen thousand was substituted; the Chamber of 1906, elected under the new system, consisted of 177 deputies. In 1906 the electoral districts were diminished in number and enlarged so as to coincide with the twenty-six administrative departments ([Greek: nomoi]); the reduction of these departments to their former number of sixteen, which is in contemplation, will bring about some further diminution in parliamentary representation. It is hoped that recent legislation will tend to check the pernicious practice of bartering personal favours, known as [Greek: synallage], which still prevails to the great detriment of public morality, paralysing all branches of the administration and wasting the resources of the state. Political parties are formed not for the furtherance of any principle or cause, but with the object of obtaining the spoils of office, and the various groups, possessing no party watchword or programme, frankly designate themselves by the names of their leaders. Even the strongest government is compelled to bargain with its supporters in regard to the distribution of patronage and other favours. The consequent instability of successive ministries has retarded useful legislation and seriously checked the national progress. In 1906 a law was passed disqualifying junior officers of the army and navy for membership of the Chamber; great numbers of these had hitherto been candidates at every election. This much-needed measure had previously been passed by Trikoupis, but had been repealed by his rival Delyannes. The executive is vested in the king, who is personally irresponsible, and governs through ministers chosen by himself and responsible to the Chamber, of which they are _ex-officio_ members. He appoints all public officials, sanctions and proclaims laws, convokes, prorogues and dissolves the Chamber, grants pardon or amnesty, coins money and confers decorations. There are seven ministries which respectively control the departments of foreign affairs, the interior, justice, finance, education and worship, the army and the navy.

Local Administration.

The 26 departments or [Greek: nomoi], into which the country is divided for administrative purposes, are each under a prefect or nomarch ([Greek: nomarchos]); they are subdivided into 69 districts or eparchies, and into 445 communes or demes ([Greek: demoi]) under mayors or demarchs ([Greek: demarchoi]). The prefects and sub-prefects are nominated by the government; the mayors are elected by the communes for a period of four years. The prefects are assisted by a departmental council, elected by the population, which manages local business and assesses rates; there are also communal councils under the presidency of the mayors. There are altogether some 12,000 state-paid officials in the country, most of them inadequately remunerated and liable to removal or transferral upon a change of government. A host of office-seekers has thus been created, and large numbers of educated persons spend many years in idleness or in political agitation. A law passed in 1905 secures tenure of office to civil servants of fifteen years' standing, and some restrictions have been placed on the dismissal and transferral of schoolmasters.

Justice.

Under the Turks the Greeks retained, together with their ecclesiastical institutions, a certain measure of local self-government and judicial independence. The Byzantine code, based on the Roman, as embodied in the [Greek: Hexabiblos] of Armenopoulos (1345), was sanctioned by royal decree in 1835 with some modifications as the civil law of Greece. Further modifications and new enactments were subsequently introduced, derived from the old French and Bavarian systems. The penal code is Bavarian, the commercial French. Liberty of person and domicile is inviolate; no arrest can be made, no house entered, and no letter opened without a judicial warrant. Trial by jury is established for criminal, political and press offences. A new civil code, based on Saxon and Italian law, has been drawn up by a commission of jurists, but it has not yet been considered by the Chamber. A separate civil code, partly French, partly Italian, is in force in the Ionian Islands. The law is administered by 1 court of cassation (styled the "Areopagus"), 5 courts of appeal, 26 courts of first instance, 233 justices of the peace and 19 correctional tribunals.

The judges, who are appointed by the Crown, are liable to removal by the minister of justice, whose exercise of this right is often invoked by political partisans. The administration of justice suffers in consequence, more especially in the country districts, where the judges must reckon with the influential politicians and their adherents. The pardon or release of a convicted criminal is not infrequently due to pressure on the part of some powerful patron. The lamentable effects of this system have long been recognized, and in 1906 a law was introduced securing tenure of office for two or four years to judges of the courts of first instance and of the inferior tribunals. In the circumstances crime is less rife than might be expected; the temperate habits of the Greeks have conduced to this result. A serious feature is the great prevalence of homicide, due in part to the passionate character of the people, but still more to the almost universal practice of carrying weapons. The traditions of the vendetta are almost extinct in the Ionian Islands, but still linger in Maina, where family feuds are transmitted from generation to generation. The brigand of the old-fashioned type ([Greek: lestes, klephtes]) has almost disappeared, except in the remoter country districts, and piracy, once so prevalent in the Aegean, has been practically suppressed, but numbers of outlaws or absconding criminals ([Greek: phygodikoi]) still haunt the mountains, and the efforts of the police to bring them to justice are far from successful. Their ranks were considerably increased after the war of 1897, when many deserters from the army and adventurers who came to Greece as volunteers betook themselves to a predatory life. On the other hand, there is no habitually criminal class in Greece, such as exists in the large centres of civilization, and professional mendicancy is still rare.

Police duties, for which officers and, in some cases, soldiers of the regular army were formerly employed, are since 1906 carried out by a reorganized gendarmerie force of 194 officers and 6344 non-commissioned officers and men, distributed in the twenty-six departments and commanded by an inspector-general resident at Athens, who is aided by a consultative commission. There are male and female prisons at all the departmental centres; the number of prisoners in 1906 was 5705. Except in the Ionian Islands, the general condition of the prisons is deplorable; discipline and sanitation are very deficient, and conflicts among the prisoners are sometimes reported in which knives and even revolvers are employed. A good prison has been built near Athens by Andreas Syngros, and a reformatory for juvenile offenders ([Greek: ephebeion]) has been founded by George Averoff, another national benefactor. Capital sentences are usually commuted to penal servitude for life; executions, for which the guillotine is employed, are for the most part carried out on the island of Bourzi near Nauplia; they are often postponed for months or even for years. There is no enactment resembling the Habeas Corpus Act, and accused persons may be detained indefinitely before trial. The Greeks, like the other nations liberated from Turkish rule, are somewhat litigious, and numbers of lawyers find occupation even in the smaller country towns.

Education.

The Greeks, an intelligent people, have always shown a remarkable zeal for learning, and popular education has made great strides. So eager is the desire for instruction that schools are often founded in the rural districts on the initiative of the villagers, and the sons of peasants, artisans and small shopkeepers come in numbers to Athens, where they support themselves by domestic service or other humble occupations in order to study at the university during their spare hours. Almost immediately after the accession of King Otho steps were taken to establish elementary schools in all the communes, and education was made obligatory. The law is not very rigorously applied in the remoter districts, but its enforcement is scarcely necessary. In 1898 there were 2914 "demotic" or primary schools, with 3465 teachers, attended by 129,210 boys (5.38% of the population) and 29,119 girls (1.19% of the population). By a law passed in 1905 the primary schools, which had reached the number of 3359 in that year, were reduced to 2604. The expenditure on primary schools is nominally sustained by the communes, but in reality by the government in the form of advances to the communes, which are not repaid; it was reduced in 1905 from upwards of 7,000,000 dr. to under 6,000,000 dr. In 1905 there were 306 "Hellenic" or secondary schools, with 819 teachers and 21,575 pupils (boys only) maintained by the state at a cost of 1,720,096 dr.; and 39 higher schools, or gymnasia, with 261 masters and 6485 pupils, partly maintained by the state (expenditure 615,600 dr.) and partly by benefactions and other means. Besides these public schools there are several private educational institutions, of which there are eight at Athens with 650 pupils. The Polytechnic Institute of Athens affords technical instruction in the departments of art and science to 221 students. Scientific agricultural instruction has been much neglected; there is an agricultural school at Aidinion in Thessaly with 40 pupils; there are eight agricultural stations ([Greek: stathmoi]) in various parts of the country. There are two theological seminaries--the Rizari School at Athens (120 pupils) and a preparatory school at Arta; three other seminaries have been suppressed. The Commercial and Industrial Academy at Athens (about 225 pupils), a private institution, has proved highly useful to the country; there are four commercial schools, each in one of the country towns. A large school for females at Athens, the Arsakion, is attended by 1500 girls. There are several military and naval schools, including the military college of the Euelpides at Athens and the school of naval cadets ([Greek: ton dokimon]). The university of Athens in 1905 numbered 57 professors and 2598 students, of whom 557 were from abroad. Of the six faculties, theology numbered 79 students, law 1467, medicine 567, arts 206, physics and mathematics 192, and pharmacy 87. The university receives a subvention from the state, which in 1905 amounted to 563,960 dr.; it possesses a library of over 150,000 volumes and geological, zoological and botanical museums. A small tax on university education was imposed in 1903; the total cost to the student for the four years' course at the university is about L25. Higher education is practically gratuitous in Greece, and there is a somewhat ominous increase in the number of educated persons who disdain agricultural pursuits and manual labour. The intellectual culture acquired is too often of a superficial character owing to the tendency to sacrifice scientific thoroughness and accuracy, to neglect the more useful branches of knowledge, and to aim at a showy dialectic and literary proficiency. (For the native and foreign archaeological institutions see ATHENS.)

Religion.

The Greek branch of the Orthodox Eastern Church is practically independent, like those of Servia, Montenegro and Rumania, though nominally subject to the patriarchate of Constantinople. The jurisdiction of the patriarch was in fact repudiated in 1833, when the king was declared the supreme head of the church, and the severance was completed in 1850. Ecclesiastical affairs are under the control of the Ministry of Education. Church government is vested in the Holy Synod, a council of five ecclesiastics under the presidency of the metropolitan of Athens; its sittings are attended by a royal commissioner. The church can invoke the aid of the civil authorities for the punishment of heresy and the suppression of unorthodox literature, pictures, &c. There were formerly 21 archbishoprics and 29 bishoprics in Greece, but a law passed in 1899 suppressed the archbishoprics (except the metropolitan see of Athens) on the death of the existing prelates, and fixed the total number of sees at 32. The prelates derive their incomes partly from the state and partly from the church lands. There are about 5500 priests, who belong for the most part to the poorest classes. The parochial clergy have no fixed stipends, and often resort to agriculture or small trading in order to supplement the scanty fees earned by their ministrations. Owing to their lack of education their personal influence over their parishioners is seldom considerable. In addition to the parochial clergy there are 19 preachers ([Greek: hierokerukes]) salaried by the state. There are 170 monasteries and 4 nunneries in Greece, with about 1600 monks and 250 nuns. In regard to their constitution the monasteries are either "idiorrhythmic" or "coenobian" (see ATHOS); the monks ([Greek: kalogeroi]) are in some cases assisted by lay brothers ([Greek: kosmikoi]). More than 300 of the smaller monasteries were suppressed in 1829 and their revenues secularized. Among the more important and interesting monasteries are those of Megaspelaeon and Lavra (where the standard of insurrection, unfurled in 1821, is preserved) near Kalavryta, St Luke of Stiris near Arachova, Daphne and Penteli near Athens, and the Meteora group in northern Thessaly. The bishops, who must be unmarried, are as a rule selected from the monastic order and are nominated by the king; the parish priests are allowed to marry, but the remarriage of widowers is forbidden. The bulk of the population, about 2,000,000, belongs to the Orthodox Church; other Christian confessions number about 15,000, the great majority being Roman Catholics. The Roman Catholics (principally in Naxos and the Cyclades) have three archbisboprics (Athens, Naxos and Corfu), five bishoprics and about 60 churches. The Jews, who are regarded with much hostility, have almost disappeared from the Greek mainland; they now number about 5000, and are found principally at Corfu. The Mahommedans are confined to Thessaly except a few at Chalcis. National sentiment is a more powerful factor than personal religious conviction in the attachment of the Greeks to the Orthodox Church; a Greek without the pale of the church is more or less an alien. The Catholic Greeks of Syros sided with the Turks at the time of the revolution; the Mahommedans of Crete, though of pure Greek descent, have always been hostile to their Christian fellow-countrymen and are commonly called Turks. On the other hand, that portion of the Macedonian population which acknowledges the patriarch of Constantinople is regarded as Greek, while that which adheres to the Bulgarian exarchate, though differing in no point of doctrine, has been declared schismatic. The constitution of 1864 guarantees toleration to all creeds in Greece and imposes no civil disabilities on account of religion.

Agriculture.

Greece is essentially an agricultural country; its prosperity depends on its agricultural products, and more than half the population is occupied in the cultivation of the soil and kindred pursuits. The land in the plains and valleys is exceedingly rich, and, wherever there is a sufficiency of water, produces magnificent crops. Cereals nevertheless furnish the principal figure in the list of imports, the annual value being about 30,000,000 fr. The country, especially since the acquisition of the fertile province of Thessaly, might under a well-developed agricultural system provide a food-supply for all its inhabitants and an abundant surplus for exportation. Thessaly alone, indeed, could furnish cereals for the whole of Greece. Unfortunately, however, agriculture is still in a primitive state, and the condition of the rural population has received very inadequate attention from successive governments. The wooden plough of the Hesiodic type is still in use, especially in Thessaly; modern implements, however, are being gradually introduced. The employment of manure and the rotation of crops are almost unknown; the fields are generally allowed to lie fallow in alternate years. As a rule, countries dependent on agriculture are liable to sudden fluctuations in prosperity, but in Greece the diversity of products is so great that a failure in one class of crops is usually compensated by exceptional abundance in another. Among the causes which have hitherto retarded agricultural progress are the ignorance and conservatism of the peasantry, antiquated methods of cultivation, want of capital, absentee proprietorship, sparsity of population, bad roads, the prevalence of usury, the uncertainty of boundaries and the land tax, which, in the absence of a survey, is levied on ploughing oxen; to these may be added the insecurity hitherto prevailing in many of the country districts and the growing distaste for rural life which has accompanied the spread of education. Large estates are managed under the metayer system; the cultivator paying the proprietor from one-third to half of the gross produce; the landlords, who prefer to live in the larger towns, see little of their tenants, and rarely interest themselves in their welfare. A great proportion of the best arable land in Thessaly is owned by persons who reside permanently out of the country. The great estates in this province extend over some 1,500,000 acres, of which about 500,000 are cultivated. In the Peloponnesus peasant proprietorship is almost universal; elsewhere it is gradually supplanting the metayer system; the small properties vary from 2 or 3 to 50 acres. The extensive state lands, about one-third of the area of Greece, were formerly the property of Mahommedan religious communities (_vakoufs_); they are for the most part farmed out annually by auction. They have been much encroached upon by neighbouring owners; a considerable portion has also been sold to the peasants. The rich plain of Thessaly suffers from alternate droughts and inundations, and from the ravages of field mice; with improved cultivation, drainage and irrigation it might be rendered enormously productive. A commission has been occupied for some years in preparing a scheme of hydraulic works. Usury is, perhaps, a greater scourge to the rural population than any visitation of nature; the institution of agricultural banks, lending money at a fair rate of interest on the security of their land, would do much to rescue the peasants from the clutches of local Shylocks. There is a difficulty, however, in establishing any system of land credit owing to the lack of a survey. Since 1897 a law passed in 1882 limiting the rate of interest to 8% (to 9% in the case of commercial debts) has to some extent been enforced by the tribunals. In the Ionian Islands the rate of 10% still prevails.

The following figures give approximately the acreage in 1906 and the
average annual yield of agricultural produce, no official statistics
being available:--

Acres.
Fields sown or lying fallow 3,000,000
Vineyards 337,500
Currant plantations 175,000
Olives (10,000,000 trees) 250,000
Fruit trees (fig, mulberry, &c.) 125,000
Meadows and pastures 7,500,000
Forests 2,000,000
Waste lands 2,875,000
----------
16,262,500

The average annual yield is as follows:--

Wheat 350,000,000 kilograms
Maize 100,000,000 "
Rye 20,000,000 "
Barley 70,000,000 "
Oats 75,000,000 "
Beans, lentils, &c 25,000,000 "
Currants 350,000,000 Venetian lb.
Sultanina 4,000,000 "
Wine 3,000,000 hectolitres
Olive oil 300,000 "
Olives (preserved) 100,000,000 kilograms
Figs (exported only) 12,000,000 "
Seed cotton 6,500,000 "
Tobacco 8,000,000 "
Vegetables and fresh fruits 20,000,000 "
Cocoons 1,000,000 "
Hesperidiums (exported only) 4,000,000 "
Carobs (exported only) 10,000,000 "
Resin 5,000,000 "
Beet 12,000,000 "

Rice is grown in the marshy plains of Elis, Boeotia, Marathon and
Missolonghi; beet in Thessaly. The cultivation of vegetables is
increasing; beans, peas and lentils are the most common. Potatoes are
grown in the upland districts, but are not a general article of diet.
Of late years market-gardening has been taken up as a new industry in
the neighbourhood of Athens. There is a great variety of fruits. Olive
plantations are found everywhere; in 1860 they occupied about 90,000
acres; in 1887, 433,701 acres. The trees are sometimes of immense age
and form a picturesque feature in the landscape. In latter years the
groves in many parts of the western Morea and Zante have been cut down
to make room for currant plantations; the destruction has been
deplorable in its consequences, for, as the tree requires twenty years
to come into full bearing, replanting is seldom resorted to. Preserved
olives, eaten with bread, are a common article of food. Excellent
olive oil is produced in Attica and elsewhere. The value of the oil
and fruit exported varies from five to ten million francs. Figs are
also abundant, especially in Messenia and in the Cyclades. Mulberry
trees are planted for the purposes of sericulture; they have been cut
down in great numbers in the currant-growing districts. Other fruit
trees are the orange, citron, lemon, pomegranate and almond. Peaches,
apricots, pears, cherries, &c., abound, but are seldom scientifically
cultivated; the fruit is generally gathered while unripe. Cotton in
1906 occupied about 12,500 acres, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Livadia. Tobacco plantations in 1893 covered 16,320 acres, yielding
about 3,500,000 kilograms; the yield in 1906 was 9,000,000 kilograms.
About 40% of the produce is exported, principally to Egypt and Turkey.
More important are the vineyards, which occupied in 1887 an area of
306,421 acres. The best wine is made at Patras, on the royal estate at
Decelea, and on other estates in Attica; a peculiar flavour is
imparted to the wine of the country by the addition of resin. The wine
of Santorin, the modern representative of the famous "malmsey," is
mainly exported to Russia. The foreign demand for Greek wines is
rapidly increasing; 3,770,257 gallons were exported in 1890, 4,974,196
gallons in 1894, There is also a growing demand for Greek cognac. The
export of wine in 1905 was 20,850,941 okes, value 5,848,544 fr.; of
cognac, 363,720 okes, value 1,091,160 fr.

Currants.

The currant, by far the most important of Greek exports, is cultivated
in a limited area extending along the southern shore of the Gulf of
Corinth and the seaboard of the Western Peloponnesus, in Zante,
Cephalonia and Leucas, and in certain districts of Acarnania and
Aetolia; attempts to cultivate it elsewhere have generally proved
unsuccessful. The history of the currant industry has been a record of
extraordinary vicissitudes. Previously to 1877 the currant was
exported solely for eating purposes, the amounts for the years 1872 to
1877 being 70,766 tons, 71,222 tons, 76,210 tons, 72,916 tons, 86,947
tons, and 82,181 tons respectively. In 1877, however, the French
vineyards began to suffer seriously from the phylloxera, and French
wine producers were obliged to have recourse to dried currants, which
make an excellent wine for blending purposes. The importation of
currants into France at once rose from 881 tons in 1877 to 20,999 tons
in 1880, and to 70,401 tons in 1889, or about 20,000 tons more than
were imported into England in that year. Meanwhile the total amount of
currants produced in Greece had nearly doubled in these thirteen
years. The country was seized with a mania for currant planting; every
other industry was neglected, and olive, orange and lemon groves were
cut down to make room for the more lucrative growth. The currant
growers, in order to increase their production as rapidly as possible,
had recourse to loans at a high rate of interest, and the great
profits which they made were devoted to further planting, while the
loans remained unpaid. A crisis followed rapidly. By 1891 the French
vineyards had to a great extent recovered from the disease, and wine
producers in France began to clamour against the competition of
foreign wines and wine-producing raisins and currants. The import duty
on these was thereupon raised from 6 francs to 15 francs per 100
kilos, and was further increased in 1894 to 25 francs. The currant
trade with France was thus extinguished; of a crop averaging 160,000
tons, only some 110,000 now found a market. Although a fresh opening
for exportation was found in Russia, the value of the fruit dropped
from L15 to L5 per ton, a price scarcely covering the cost of
cultivation. In July 1895 the government introduced a measure, since
known as the Retention ([Greek: parakratesis]) Law, by which it was
enacted that every shipper should deliver into depots provided by the
government a weight of currants equivalent to 15% of the amount which
he intended to export. A later law fixed the quantity to be retained
by the state at 10%, which might be increased to 20%, should a
representative committee, meeting every summer at Athens, so advise
the government. The currants thus taken over by the government cannot
be exported unless they are reduced to pulp, syrup or otherwise
rendered unsuitable for eating purposes; they may be sold locally for
wine-making or distilling, due precautions being taken that they are
not used in any other way. The price of exported currants is thus
maintained at an artificial figure. The Retention Law, which after
1895 was voted annually, was passed for a period of ten years in 1899.
This pernicious measure, which is in defiance of all economic laws,
perpetuates a superfluous production, retards the development of other
branches of agriculture and burdens the government with vast
accumulations of an unmarketable commodity. It might excusably be
adopted as a temporary expedient to meet a pressing crisis, but as a
permanent system it can only prove detrimental to the country and the
currant growers themselves.

In 1899 a "Bank of Viticulture" was established at Patras for the
purpose of assisting the growers, to whom it was bound to make
advances at a low rate of interest; it undertook the storage and the
sale of the retained fruit, from which its capital was derived. The
bank soon found itself burdened with an enormous unsaleable stock,
while its loans for the most part remained unpaid; meantime
over-production, the cause of the trouble, continued to increase, and
prices further diminished. In 1903 a syndicate of English and other
foreign capitalists made proposals for a monopoly of the export,
guaranteeing fixed prices to the growers. The scheme, which conflicted
with Anglo-Greek commercial conventions, was rejected by the Theotokis
ministry; serious disturbances followed in the currant-growing
districts, and M. Theotokis resigned. His successor, M. Rallis, in
order to appease the cultivators, arranged that the Currant Bank
should offer them fixed minimum prices for the various growths, and
guaranteed it a loan of 6,000,000 dr. The resources of the bank,
however, gave out before the end of the season, and prices pursued
their downward course. Another experiment was then tried; the export
duty (15%) was made payable in kind, the retention quota being thus
practically raised from 20 to 35%. The only result of this measure was
a diminution of the export; in the spring of 1905 prices fell very low
and the growers began to despair. A syndicate of banks and capitalists
then came forward, which introduced the system now in operation. A
privileged company was formed which obtained a charter from the
government for twenty years, during which period the retention and
export duties are maintained at the fixed rates of 20 and 15%
respectively. The company aims at keeping up the prices of the
marketable qualities by employing profitably for industrial purposes
the unexported surplus and retained inferior qualities; it pays to the
state 4,000,000 dr. annually under the head of export duty; offers all
growers at the beginning of each agricultural year a fixed price of
115 dr. per 1000 Venetian lb. irrespective of quality, and pays a
price varying from 115 dr. to 145 dr. according to quality at the end
of the year for the unexported surplus. In return for these advantages
to the growers the company is entitled to receive 7 dr. on every 1000
lb. of currants produced and to dispose of the whole retained amount.
A special company has been formed for the conversion of the
superfluous product into spirit, wine, &c. The system may perhaps
prove commercially remunerative, but it penalizes the producers of the
better growths in order to provide a livelihood for the growers of
inferior and unmarketable kinds and protracts an abnormal situation.
The following table gives the annual currant crop from 1877 to 1905:--

+------+----------+------------+-----------+
| Year.|Total crop| Exported to|Exported to|
| | (tons). |Gt. Britain.| France. |
+------+----------+------------+-----------+
| 1877 | 82,181 | .. | 881 |
| 1878 | 100,004 | .. | 9,086 |
| 1879 | 92,311 | .. | 19,087 |
| 1880 | 92,337 | .. | 20,999 |
| 1881 | 121,994 | .. | 30,315 |
| 1882 | 109,403 | 51,933 | 26,282 |
| 1883 | 114,980 | 52,099 | 24,815 |
| 1884 | 129,268 | 59,629 | 39,198 |
| 1885 | 113,287 | 55,765 | 37,730 |
| 1886 | 127,570 | 48,892 | 45,000 |
| 1887 | 127,160 | 55,549 | 37,438 |
| 1888 | 158,728 | 63,714 | 40,735 |
| 1889 | 142,308 | 52,251 | 69,555 |
| 1890 | 146,749 | 67,502 | 37,816 |
| 1891 | 161,545 | 70,762 | 39,712 |
| 1892 | 116,944 | 60,418 | 21,721 |
| 1893 | 119,886 | 73,000 | 6,800 |
| 1894 | 135,500 | 64,500 | 15,000 |
| 1895 | 167,695 | 60,500 | 26,500 |
| 1896 | 153,514 | 65,000 | 6,500 |
| 1897 | 115,730 | 63,000 | 2,000 |
| 1898 | 153,514 | 69,500 | 6,000 |
| 1899 | 144,071 | 65,600 | 3,800 |
| 1900 | 47,236 | 36,000 | 300 |
| 1901 | 139,820 | 58,000 | 1,216 |
| 1902 | 152,580 | 58,400 | 4,782 |
| 1903 | 179,499 | 54,800 | 4,470 |
| 1904 | 146,500 | 58,850 | 820 |
| 1905 | 162,957 | 61,700 | 1,042 |
+------+----------+------------+-----------+

The "peronospora," a species of white blight, first caused
considerable damage in the Greek vineyards in 1892, recurring in 1897
and 1900.

Stock-farming.

More than half the cultivable area of Greece is devoted to pasturage.
Cattle-rearing, as a rule, is a distinct occupation from agricultural
farming; the herds are sent to pasture on the mountains in the summer,
and return to the plains at the beginning of winter. The larger cattle
are comparatively rare, being kept almost exclusively for agricultural
labour; the smaller are very abundant. Beef is scarcely eaten in
Greece, the milk of cows is rarely drunk and butter is almost unknown.
Cheese, a staple article of diet, is made from the milk of sheep and
goats. The number of larger cattle has declined in recent years; that
of the smaller has increased. The native breed of oxen is small;
buffaloes are seldom seen except in north-western Thessaly; a few
camels are used in the neighbourhood of Parnassus. The Thessalian
breed of horses, small but sturdy and enduring, can hardly be taken to
represent the celebrated chargers of antiquity. Mules are much
employed in the mountainous districts; the best type of these animals
is found in the islands. The flocks of long-horned sheep and goats add
a picturesque feature to Greek rural scenery. The goats are more
numerous in proportion to the population than in any other European
country (137 per 100 inhabitants). The shepherds' dogs rival those of
Bulgaria in ferocity. According to an unofficial estimate published in
1905 the numbers of the various domestic animals in 1899 were as
follows: Oxen and buffaloes, 408,744; horses, 157,068; mules, 88,869;
donkeys, 141,174; camels, 51; sheep, 4,568,151; goats, 3,339,439;
pigs, 79,716. During the four years 1899-1902 the annual average value
of imported cattle was 4,218,015 dr., of exported cattle 209,321 dr.

Forests.

The forest area (about 2,500,000 acres or one-fifth of the surface of
the mainland) is for the most part state property. The value of the
forests has been estimated at 200,000,000 fr.; the most productive are
in the district extending from the Pindus range to the Gulf of
Corinth. The principal trees are the oak (about 30 varieties), the
various coniferae, the chestnut, maple, elm, beech, alder, cornel and
arbutus. In Greece, as in other lands formerly subject to Turkish
rule, the forests are not only neglected, but often deliberately
destroyed; this great source of national wealth is thus continually
diminishing. Every year immense forest fires may be seen raging in the
mountains, and many of the most picturesque districts in the country
are converted into desolate wildernesses. These conflagrations are
mainly the work of shepherds eager to provide increased pasturage for
their flocks; they are sometimes, however, due to the carelessness of
smokers, and occasionally, it is said, to spontaneous ignition in hot
weather. Great damage is also done by the goats, which browse on the
young saplings; the pine trees are much injured by the practice of
scoring their bark for resin. With the disappearance of the trees the
soil of the mountain slopes, deprived of its natural protection, is
soon washed away by the rain; the rapid descent of the water causes
inundations in the plains, while the uplands become sterile and lose
their vegetation. The climate has been affected by the change; rain
falls less frequently but with greater violence, and the process of
denudation is accelerated. The government has from time to time made
efforts for the protection of the forests, but with little success
till recently. A staff of inspectors and forest guards was first
organized in 1877. The administration of the forests has since 1893
been entrusted to a department of the Ministry of Finance, which
controls a staff of 4 inspectors ([Greek: epitheoretai]), 31
superintendents ([Greek: dasarchoi]), 52 head foresters ([Greek:
archiphylakes]) and 298 foresters ([Greek: dasyphylakes]). The
foresters are aided during the summer months, when fires are most
frequent, by about 500 soldiers and gendarmes. About a third of these
functionaries have received instruction in the school of forestry at
Vythine in the Morea, open since 1898. Owing to the measures now
taken, which include excommunication by the parish priests of
incendiaries and their accomplices, the conflagrations have
considerably diminished. The total annual value of the products of the
Greek forests averages 15,000,000 drachmae. The revenue accruing to
the government in 1905 was 1,418,158 dr., as compared with 583,991 dr.
in 1883. The increase is mainly due to improved administration. The
supply of timber for house-construction, ship-building,
furniture-making, railway sleepers, &c., is insufficient, and is
supplemented by importation (annual value about 12,000,000 francs);
transport is rendered difficult by the lack of roads and navigable
streams. The principal secondary products are valonea (annual
exportation about 1,250,000 fr.) and resin, which is locally employed
as a preservative ingredient in the fabrication of wine. The
administration of the forests is still defective, and measures for the
augmentation and better instruction of the staff of foresters have
been designed by the government. In 1900 a society for the
re-afforesting of the country districts and environs of the large
towns was founded at Athens under the patronage of the crown princess.

+------------------------------+---------+-----------+
| | Tons. | Francs. |
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+
| Chrome | 8,900 | 337,952 |
| Emery | 6,972 | 742,486 |
| Gypsum | 185 | 7,995 |
| Iron ore | 465,622 | 3,387,467 |
| Ferromanganese | 89,687 | 1,182,652 |
| Lead (argentiferous pig) ore | 13,729 | 6,811,792 |
| Lignite | 11,757 | 143,814 |
| Magnesite | 43,498 | 864,982 |
| Manganese ore | 8,171 | 122,565 |
| Mill stones | 12,628 | 34,660 |
| Salt | 25,201 | 1,638,065 |
| Sulphur | 1,126 | 121,000 |
| Zinc ore | 22,562 | 2,852,355 |
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+

Mines.

The chief minerals are silver, lead, zinc, copper manganese, magnesia,
iron, sulphur and coal. Emery, salt, millstone and gypsum, which are
found in considerable quantities, are worked by the government. The
important mines at Laurium, a source of great wealth to ancient
Athens, were reopened in 1864 by a Franco-Italian company, but were
declared to be state property in 1871; they are now worked by a Greek
and a French company. The output of marketable ore in 1899 amounted to
486,760 tons, besides 289,292 tons of dressed lead ore. In 1905 the
output was as follows: Raw and roasted manganese iron ore, 113,636
tons; hematite iron ore, 94,734 tons; calamine or zinc ore, 22,612
tons; arsenic and argentiferous lead, 1875 tons; zinc blende and
galena, 443 tons; total, 233,300 tons, together with 164,857 tons of
dressed lead, producing 13,822 tons of silver pig lead containing 1657
to 1910 grams of silver per ton. It has been found profitable to
resmelt the scoriae of the ancient workings. The total value of the
exports from the Laurium mines, which in 1875 amounted to only
L150,513, had in 1899 increased to L827,209, but fell in 1905 to
L499,882. The revenue accruing to the government from all mines and
quarries, including those worked by the state, was estimated in the
budget for 1906 at 1,332,000 dr. The emery of Naxos, which is a state
monopoly, is excellent in quality and very abundant. Mines of iron ore
have latterly been opened at Larimna in Locris. Magnesite mines are
worked by an Anglo-Greek company in Euboea. There are sulphur and
manganese mines in the island of Melos, and the volcanic island of
Santorin produces pozzolana, a kind of cement, which is exported in
considerable quantities. The great abundance of marble in Greece has
latterly attracted the attention of foreign capitalists. New quarries
have been opened since 1897 by an English company on the north slope
of Mount Pentelicus, and are now connected by rail with Athens and the
Peiraeus. The marble on this side of the mountain is harder than that
on the south, which alone was worked by the ancients. The output in
1905 was 1573 tons. Mount Pentelicus furnished material for most of
the celebrated buildings of ancient Athens; the marble, which is
white, blue-veined, and somewhat transparent, assumes a rich yellow
hue after long exposure to the air. The famous Parian quarries are
still worked; white marble is also found at Scyros, Tenos and Naxos;
grey at Stoura and Karystos; variegated at Valaxa and Karystos; green
on Taygetus and in Thessaly; black at Tenos; and red (porphyry) in
Maina.

The official statistics of the output and value of minerals produced
in 1905 were as in the preceding table.

The number of persons employed in mining operations in 1905 was 9934.

Commerce and industry.